Life in Spain is slowly returning to normal after last week’s success. Florentino Perez gave a spectacular presentation of Kylian Mbappe in front of 80,000 fans, and now the nation can start summing impressions up. At least until the Olympics.The end of the European Championship was also a sign for the Spanish state authorities that they could, at least temporarily, put an end to the acting president of the Football Association, Pedro Rocha, against whom several court proceedings are being conducted. Those same state bodies are accused, on the other hand, of having dealt too much with Rocha and too little with problems such as the fact that Valencia’s Mestalla was removed from the group of eleven stadiums hosting the 2030 World Cup.Let’s start from the beginning. The EURO2024 winners’ party was memorable. Thousands of people on all the streets of Madrid where the Furia Roja bus passed denied the theory that the national team is not of interest to the masses. At the main celebration, the master of ceremonies was captain Alvaro Morata.There are dozens of better players in the world, but Morata’s CV is unparalleledHe moved to AC Milan singing “Gibraltar is Spanish”, for which both he and Rodri will probably get a two-game ban from UEFA, and complaining that he is being bullied in his homeland, that they don’t want him at Atlético, and that it can’t be done like that anymore.At the same time, the question of the Ballon d’Or is open. The Spaniards now, of course, want it for themselves, but they can’t agree whether for Rodri or for Carvajal, behind whom Real Madrid fans stood, forgetting about Vinicius and Bellingham. The fact is that at the European Championship, the Spaniards won all the individual trophies: Rodri as MVP of the whole championship, Lamine Yamal as the best young player, Nico Williams MVP of the final, and Dani Olmo (albeit with five more players alongside him), the best scorer. Six Spanish players were in the UEFA’s team of the tournament.The European trophy is a big boost for the market value of Spanish footballers. Morata was only the first in line to cash in on this trend, as AC Milan without saying a word paid the buyout clause and offered a four-year contract.According to estimates published by Football Benchmark, the price of Lamine Yamal jumped from 78,300,000 to 105,300,000 euros, Nico Williams’ from 67,400,000 to 79,500,000, while Unai Simon, Fabian Ruiz, Dani Olmo, Marc Cucurella, Robin Le Normand and Dani Vivian are all 4,000,000 and 6,000,000 euros more expensive. Behind them are the scorer of the winning goal in the EURO final, Mikel Oyarzabal (3,000,000) and even Aymeric Laporte (2,000,000), who these days is mentioned that he could return from the Saudi league – no less than to join Real Madrid.Teen sensation Lamine Yamal or goalscorer Nico Williams? Who’s the better player in Spain’s squad? 🇪🇸🏆Take it away, Nico! 😉#ESPENG #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/B0EeYCm9Sq— DW Sports (@dw_sports) July 15, 2024 The star of the transfer window is of course Nico Williams. He was hassled to such an extent during the tournament in Germany that the president of Athletic Bilbao, Jon Uriarte, had to go public and protest against the bombardment of the footballer with questions about the future constantly launched by Joan Laporta. Uriarte complained that the Football Association did nothing to protect the player who, as far as he knows, still belongs to Bilbao, but… The pressure is not decreasing, the media is not giving in, and recently, the Barcelona fans have joined in, collecting money for Williams through TikTok.Nico’s possible move to the capital of Catalonia is viewed with sympathy – not only because of his great synchronicity with Yamal. With the arrival of Mbappe, on the one hand, the possibility of the Spanish league returning to the glory of the times of Messi and Ronaldo appeared again, but at the same time, it was placed in a very unenviable position. If no one opposes the absolute hegemony of Real Madrid, the competition will be crushed in the next season, and La Liga, with economically weak Barcelona, Atlético Madrid that cannot find the optimal formula, and other clubs that cannot compete at that level, will quickly begin to resemble the French or German championship.It would be ideal to create a feedback loop in which the European Champion’s trophy and future national team successes that are realistically expected, will contribute to stopping the outflow of (primarily domestic) players, which in turn would strengthen La Liga and rehabilitate the clubs’ finances. And the World Cup 2030, which should give Spain a boost, also enters into that same equation, but in order for that to happen, it is necessary to fulfil certain obligations.The government has no intention or need to invest in the transport and tourism structure, all that is required is that the clubs adequately prepare the stadiums. And a good example of the problem that arises here is Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, which was kicked out of the host group of stadiums for the World Cup, despite absolute political consensus and great effort. Valencia’s hotels, tourists, airport and caterers are in vain, as Peter Lim has been building the stadium for ten years and does not intend to speed up.”Rodri, you suck!”The eleven chosen stadiums will have to shine. In addition to the Santiago Bernabeu, the crown jewel reserved for the final, two brand new stadiums await, Camp Nou and Romareda. In La Coruña and Málaga, sums of around one hundred million will also be invested for renovation. Sevilla’s La Cartuja and even new stadiums like Metropolitano, San Mames, Anoeta and RCDE Stadium will make minor changes to have optimal conditions for 2030 – when Yamal and Williams are at full strength and the Spanish league is back on top.Until then, a few more big competitions await. We move first to Paris, where the ‘B team’, so called because the distinction between “young” (ie born after 2001) and “senior” has been completely erased, will try out for the Olympic medal. If we take a look at the team called by Santi Denia, it is clear that many are waiting for their moment with Luis de la Fuente.Only two players from EURO2024 are joining the Olympic team who practically didn’t even play in Germany – Fermin Lopez and Alex Baena. They will also be a pillar of the Olympic squad. Then there’s the “certain” Pau Cubarsi, who was taken off the shortlist by De la Fuente, although he’s been showing for some time now that 17 years of age is a relative figure even when it comes to defenders. Youngster of Nigerian descent Samu Omorodion, whom a considerable number of Atlético Madrid fans are already picturing, first as their first striker, and then in the center of the attack of the national team, between Yamal and Williams.##EDITORS_CHOICE##There are also: Diego López, from the group of Ruben Baraja’s boys responsible for the fact that Valencia, instead of falling to La Liga 2, almost knocked on the door of European competitions; Miguel Gutierrez from Girona, one of the many pupils of Real Madrid’s school who are sharpening their tools across Spain; Eric Garcia, who already has Olympic and World Cup experience; Pablo Barrios with 24 games played this season in Atlético Madrid, 17 in the first team; and Sergio Gomez, who recently signed a transfer from Manchester City to Real Sociedad.This is a team that has a very solid defense, the capacity to dominate the midfield, and a goal-scoring instinct. In a rather weak competition, “B team” has a great chance for the podium, and Spain to round off a great year of national football. After that, we will see if the summer fairy tale will turn into a constant value, what performance its protagonists will show in club football in 2024/25, and if the greatest success of this Spanish national team is really in the future.##NAJAVA_MECA_8222209##
